The Martian (2015) review lands on Born to Watch this week as Whitey, Gow and Will blast off to Mars for Ridley Scott's hugely entertaining tale of survival, science, potatoes and one very unlucky astronaut. The Movie Review Podcast, where we do not take the movies or ourselves too seriously, is tackling one of the most rewatchable science-fiction films of the last decade, starring Matt Damon as Mark Watney, a man forced to do what none of us could possibly manage: stay alive on Mars using his brains, determination and an alarming amount of human fertiliser.

Directed by Ridley Scott and adapted from Andy Weir's novel, The Martian starts with a simple but brutal premise. During a mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney is struck during a violent storm, presumed dead and left behind as the rest of his crew evacuates the planet. One problem: Watney isn't dead.

Now stranded millions of kilometres from Earth, he has limited food, no immediate way to communicate with NASA and years to wait before another mission could possibly reach him.

Easy.

The boys dive into why The Martian works so well despite essentially being Cast Away on Mars. Matt Damon has to carry huge sections of the film alone, yet Watney never becomes boring. He is smart, vulnerable, funny and constantly solving problems, usually just before another problem arrives and threatens to kill him.

That's one of the things Whitey loves most about the movie. Watney doesn't magically get everything right. Things go wrong. Calculations fail. Equipment breaks. Plans collapse. Every solution seems to create another problem, giving the film an authenticity that keeps the tension alive.

Will has recently read Andy Weir's novel, so we also get into the differences between page and screen. The book dives much deeper into the science behind Watney's survival and adds context for how qualified he is to handle the mechanical and botanical challenges thrown his way.

Then there is that cast.

Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Wong and Donald Glover help turn what could have been a one-man survival story into something much bigger.

The boys have different picks when it comes to the standout performances, with Damon naturally getting plenty of love, while Jeff Daniels and Chiwetel Ejiofor also come in for some serious praise. Donald Glover might arrive late, but he certainly makes an impression.

The episode also asks whether The Martian might represent the last truly great Ridley Scott movie. That opens the door to a run-through of Scott's extraordinary career, from Alien and Blade Runner through Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and American Gangster, before looking at some of his more recent efforts.

Then there is the music.

For a bloke trapped on another planet, Watney has access to plenty of tunes; unfortunately for him, Commander Lewis appears to have left him with a collection heavily weighted towards disco. It becomes one of the movie's best running jokes and naturally gives Born to Watch plenty to work with.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly gets into everything from Damon's performance and Watney's relentless problem-solving to the genuinely stressful HAB sequence, NASA's decision-making and a couple of moments where the science-fiction starts leaning a little more heavily on the fiction.

The film also sparks plenty of discussion for its surprisingly positive outlook. Rather than turning Watney's rescue into a simple American hero story, The Martian becomes a global effort. Scientists, astronauts, and space agencies work together toward one objective: bringing one man home.

Of course, this is Born to Watch, so somewhere between the intelligent discussion of orbital mechanics, survival psychology and Ridley Scott's filmmaking, things inevitably deteriorate.

• Potatoes are discussed.
• Human waste is discussed.
• Duct tape gets the respect it deserves.
• And Will's ongoing journey from Worky to potentially fully qualified podcast contributor continues under intense performance-review conditions.

Strap yourself into the Hermes, pack enough potatoes and make sure someone remembered the duct tape.

This is The Martian (2015) Review, Born to Watch style.

#TheMartian #TheMartianReview #BornToWatch #MovieReviewPodcast #MattDamon #RidleyScott #ScienceFiction #SciFiMovies #AndyWeir #MoviePodcast

This week on Born to Watch, we head into Prohibition-era Chicago for The Untouchables 1987 Review, revisiting Brian De Palma's stylish gangster classic starring Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro and Andy Garcia. It's cops, Capone, Tommy guns, questionable accents, immaculate suits and enough testosterone to make this one of the great 1980s sausage fests. More importantly, this special episode is dedicated to our great mate Chupperz, who requested the film. Chupperz, this one is for you.

Released in 1987, The Untouchables takes us into the battle between federal agent Eliot Ness and Chicago crime boss Al Capone. Kevin Costner plays Ness as the ultimate straight-laced good guy, determined to bring Capone down legally, at least until Chicago starts teaching him that playing by the rules might not be enough.

Enter Sean Connery as Jimmy Malone.
Connery won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role, and the boys spend plenty of time discussing whether he is also the real star of the movie. Malone brings the experience, attitude, and gravitas Ness needs, along with one of the best approaches to law enforcement ever put on screen. If they pull a knife, you might want to start thinking about bringing something slightly more substantial.

Then there's Andy Garcia as George Stone, young, ridiculously cool, deadly accurate and sporting enough back hair to qualify as an additional cast member. Garcia doesn't need many lines to make an impression. He simply turns up, looks cool and shoots people with an accuracy that would make most action heroes jealous.

And then we get Bobby De Niro.

Robert De Niro goes full method as Al Capone, putting on the weight and delivering a wonderfully smug, intimidating performance. The problem? Whitey wants more of him. A lot more. The discussion turns to whether The Untouchables missed an opportunity by keeping Capone relatively limited, instead of giving De Niro more screen time and letting the film explore both sides of the battle.

There's also plenty of love for Brian De Palma's direction. This movie is packed with memorable filmmaking, from brutal moments of violence to beautifully constructed suspense. The famous Union Station sequence remains the standout, slowly tightening the tension before everything explodes. Even if the boys have a few questions about that pram, the woman carrying it, the strangely busy midnight railway station and why nobody thought to give her a hand.

The episode also digs into Ennio Morricone's brilliant score, one of the elements that immediately gives The Untouchables its identity. The music is bold, instantly recognisable and a massive part of why the movie still feels so cinematic decades later.

Of course, this is Born to Watch, so respectful film analysis only lasts so long.

The boys question continuity problems, Sean Connery's Scottish take on an Irish accent, Frank Nitti's questionable escape plan, Capone's all-in-one grooming experience, Costner's white-knight energy, and whether a piece of paper listing bribed jurors would really be enough to send a courtroom completely sideways.

There's also the usual trip through The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Snorbs Report, Film School for F-Wits, quotables, trivia and the random tangents that somehow turn a discussion about a Brian De Palma gangster movie into conversations that have absolutely no right being there.

But beneath all the piss-taking is genuine appreciation for a movie that still looks fantastic. The costumes, locations, production design and old-school filmmaking give The Untouchables a scale and atmosphere that remains impressive nearly four decades later.

Is Costner charismatic enough to carry it?
Is Connery actually the MVP?
Should De Niro have been given far more screen time?
Is the Union Station shootout still one of the great action sequences of the 1980s?

And most importantly, where does The Untouchables eventually land in the sacred halls of the Born to Watch Rank Bank?

You’ll have to listen to find out.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Think The Untouchables is an untouchable 1980s classic?
Let us know your favourite scene, character and quote.

And if you've got a movie you think deserves the full Born to Watch treatment, send it our way.
Just remember, as Chupperz discovered, getting your movie selected also means giving the boys permission to absolutely tear it apart.

Born to Watch, the Movie Review Podcast where we don't take the movies, or ourselves, too seriously.

#TheUntouchables #TheUntouchables1987 #BornToWatch #MovieReviewPodcast #KevinCostner #SeanConnery #RobertDeNiro #AndyGarcia #BrianDePalma #80sMovies