Wild Things 1998 Review takes Born to Watch into the steamy, suspicious world of Blue Bay, Florida. Whitey, Gow and Damo revisit the film that sold a generation on its trailer, its cast and a certain swimming pool scene. Nearly three decades later, does the thriller itself hold up once everyone has stopped pausing the VHS?

Matt Dillon plays Sam Lombardo, a high school guidance counsellor accused of assault by wealthy student Kelly Van Ryan, played by Denise Richards. Neve Campbell’s Suzie Toller adds another allegation, Kevin Bacon’s detective Ray Duquette investigates, and Bill Murray arrives as the lawyer who seems to be having considerably more fun than anyone else. That is the setup. What follows is a pile-up of schemes, betrayals and reveals that sends the boys back through the plot to work out who knew what, and when.

For Whitey and Damo, this is a trip back to seeing Wild Things at the cinema in 1998. The trailer did its job, but their memories of the film are rather more selective. Gow has watched it more often and remembers enjoying the twists. On this rewatch, the three compare the movie they thought they knew with the one actually playing in front of them. Just how much of its provocative reputation comes from a handful of scenes?

The discussion turns to the performances. Is Dillon playing Sam as brooding and mysterious, or is something missing? Does Campbell's character give away more than the film intends? And why does Murray, with relatively little screen time, feel like the only cast member who understands the sort of movie he is in? Richards, Bacon and Theresa Russell all get their moment under the Born to Watch microscope too.

Then there are the clues, the convenient decisions and the increasingly crowded list of double-crosses. The boys pick apart the film's red herrings and ask whether another twist makes a thriller clever or simply harder to care about. A book Suzie is reading, a line from Duquette and a set of muddy footprints all get a second look. If you have only seen Wild Things once, some of those details might send you back for another watch, even if Whitey is in no hurry to join you.

The film's late-'90s atmosphere gets its due, too. There is the soundtrack, the Florida setting, the swimwear and the kind of marketing that could turn a brief scene into the reason everyone bought a ticket. Whitey, Gow and Damo look at how that reputation compares with the film’s actual mix of crime, comedy and erotic thriller. They also tackle a shower reveal that inspires more discussion than its place in the story could possibly justify.

Along the way, Gow brings the taglines and cast facts, Whitey takes Film School for F-Wits through a selection of thrillers built around desire and deception, and the Kick Ass Credit Song finds a very specific subject. The Snorbs Report makes its inevitable appearance. So does the Rank Bank, where the boys make their individual calls without agreeing on whether the film is worth revisiting.

This is Born to Watch, the movie review podcast where we don't take the movies or ourselves too seriously. Put on Wild Things, stay alert through the credits, and join Whitey, Gow and Damo for a review packed with nostalgia, disbelief and more questions about the plot than anyone expected to ask.

What did you make of the rewatch? Tell us whether the twists still work for you, which performance you enjoyed most and whether Bill Murray steals the whole thing.

#BornToWatch #WildThings #WildThings1998 #MovieReview #FilmPodcast #90sMovies #EroticThriller #NeveCampbell #DeniseRichards #BillMurray

Point Break 1991 Review is here, and Born to Watch is heading into the surf with Johnny Utah, Bodhi and the Ex-Presidents. Whitey, Dan, Gow and Damo revisit Kathryn Bigelow’s action film to find out whether its mix of bank robberies, beach culture and skydiving still delivers. This is the movie review podcast where we don’t take the movies or ourselves too seriously, and a film this gloriously committed to its own intensity gives us plenty to work with.

For Whitey, Point Break was a video shop favourite and an easy Sunday afternoon watch. Dan and Gow have returned to it plenty of times over the years. Damo, despite being the crew’s actual surfer, has barely revisited it since seeing it at the cinema. That makes for an interesting question: does knowing your way around a wave make this film more exciting, or make its surfing scenes impossible to ignore?

Keanu Reeves plays Johnny Utah, a former college quarterback turned FBI agent who goes undercover among Los Angeles surfers. Patrick Swayze is Bodhi, the magnetic thrill-seeker at the centre of a crew that seems to live for the next wave. Gary Busey joins the ride as Utah’s partner, Angelo Pappas. The boys get into the cast, the chemistry and the peculiar power Bodhi has to make everyone around him listen when he starts talking about freedom.

They also take a close look at Kathryn Bigelow’s direction. The action has a physical energy that helped make Point Break a favourite for a generation of viewers. But how much of the film holds together once the adrenaline wears off? The crew picks through the undercover investigation, the shifting pace of the story, and an ending that gives them plenty to discuss.

Then Damo and Dan bring some surfing knowledge to the table. Watch closely, and a rider can appear to change stance, while separate waves seem to become one continuous ride. The night surfing draws particular attention. Whitey remembers being swept up in the film when he was younger, but Damo sees details that took him straight out of it. It turns into a lively argument about whether a film needs to get the sport right when the rest of the experience is this entertaining.

Naturally, the conversation takes a few detours. There are memories of seeing the film at the cinema, stories from Whitey’s video shop days, plenty of Patrick Swayze appreciation and a debate over Keanu’s performance. The boys find time for Gary Busey, Australian accents and the question of which cast member really deserves to be called the star of the show. Damo also brings a Point Break inspired credit song that takes the episode somewhere even Johnny Utah might not have expected.

The crew agrees on some moments and splits sharply on others. Nostalgia plays a part, especially for those who grew up with the film close at hand, but nobody lets a favourite movie escape a proper examination. From the beach fights to the airborne thrills, they revisit what makes Point Break so memorable and where it asks the audience to go along for the ride.

There's also Film School for F-Wits and, of course, the Rank Bank. The boys have plenty to say about where this one belongs, but you’ll have to listen to hear how the debate plays out. Bring your best Bodhi impression, keep an eye on those waves and join Born to Watch for a return to one of the most talked-about action films of the 1990s.

Listen now and tell us: does Point Break still make you want to chase the next wave, or has Damo spotted something you can never unsee?

#PointBreak #PointBreak1991 #PointBreakReview #BornToWatch #MovieReviewPodcast #PatrickSwayze #KeanuReeves #KathrynBigelow #90sMovies #ActionMovies

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