Episode 70 - ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES

Addams Family Values abandons all pretense to the relatively tame spookiness and ookiness associated with the macabre clan's previous iterations. It's a surprisingly dark and nihilistic free-for-all, filled with violence, mayhem, and sick burns (both fiery and verbal).

No taboo remains unbroken as Blythe Rudloff makes her long-awaited return to the podcast to salute this abnormally superior sequel and its stinging humor, and to explicate one of the laziest movie themes of all time. Whoomp! Here it is.

Addams Family Values (1993)
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Produced by Scott Rudin
Written by Paul Rudnick
Based on the characters created by Charles Addams
Starring Anjelica Huston, Raúl Juliá, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Jimmy Workman, Peter MacNichol, Christine Baranski, David Krumholtz, Carol Kane, Carel Struycken, Christopher Hart, and Joan Cusack

Episode 69 - HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

School is most assuredly in session during Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, a film tasked with translating a massive publishing phenomenon to the screen while conveying the franchise's emphasis on fantastical world-building and staunchly humanist themes. It's a whirlwind of new information that only scratches the surface of what's to come.

Professed Potter-head Kristal Bailey joins us to describe the thrill of seeing Hogwarts for the first time, and helps us determine if repeat viewings of this exposition-heavy introduction feel more like remedial education.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Directed by Chris Columbus
Produced by David Heyman
Written by Steve Kloves
Based on the novel by J.K. Rowling
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Ian Hart, and Richard Harris

Episode 68 - FIRST KID

What if the White House was home to a moody, impetuous, loud-mouthed brat who was simultaneously blind to his immense privilege and yet pitiable for his seeming inability to acknowledge his own glaring flaws?

It's difficult to imagine this situation ever being a real-life possibility, so thankfully we have the Sinbad vehicle First Kid to answer that question with heavy doses of improvised schtick and '90s middle school signifiers. Internet raconteur and one-man content aggregator Manny Lozano makes his WWWW debut to help scrutinize the film's subtle political messages and major sartorial missteps.

First Kid (1996)
Directed by David M. Evans
Produced by Roger Birnbaum
Written by Tim Kelleher
Starring Sinbad, Brock Pierce, Timothy Busfield, Robert Guillaume, Blake Boyd, Fawn Reed, Erin Williby, Zachery Ty Bryan, Art La Fleur, James Naughton, Lisa Eichhorn, and Sonny Bono