Colin Wessman

I love those oldies and hoagies, give me some beefcakes and cheesesteaks

Shocktober: The House

The House

As we’ve sped up the normalization of releasing new movies on streaming due to these rough few years for the movie business, it has caused me to ask when a streaming release does a disservice to a movie and when it actually benefits it. Obviously, there were a couple of movies released this summer that would’ve been considerably more enjoyable to watch in a theater, but at the same time, it is hard to deny that streaming can make a weirder, less commercial film easier to discover than it otherwise would’ve been. I would say that The House falls into the latter category, since I have a hard time seeing this movie becoming the kind of sleeper hit that another stop-motion film, Marcel The Shell with Shoes On, became earlier this year. Yet on Netflix, it’s a curiosity waiting there for anyone looking for something a bit off-kilter, though it’s hard to say if you could depend on The Algorithm to actually send you its way. Continue reading

The Pick: Morbius

This time on The Pick it is, unfortunately, morbin’ time. In the midst of Shocktober season, we dive into the recent film portrayal of one of the spookier superhero villains and live to regret it. This is quite possibly the worst movie we’ve reviewed so far on The Pick, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a lively and cathartic conversation while airing our grievances against it and what can go wrong when the people making a superhero movie don’t seem remotely invested in what they’re putting onscreen. Plus, we get another unconventional Little Pick as Sean educates us on the low-profile Brazilian jiu-jitsu career of Sony Spider-man Universe alum, Tom Hardy. Continue reading

Shocktober: Day Shift

Day Shift

There are a lot of movies and TV shows about vampires. However, there are slightly less movies and TV shows about vampire hunters, one of which I had the pleasure of starring in alongside a fellow Mildly Pleaser. Day Shift seems to be somewhat aware of this, as it digs a little deeper into the specifics of the vampire hunter lifestyle than that of the actual vampires they spend their time killing. Still, the movie is ultimately less concerned with world-building than it is with constructing some gruesome, gun-slinging action sequences paired with a decent amount of buddy-comedy laughs. In the end, it’s a bit of an uneven grab bag of styles, but one that hits the spot if you’re in for some bloodsucking fun readily available on Netflix. Continue reading

The Pick: The Transformers: The Movie

There wasn’t any specific tie-in or reason really for us to be talking about the 1986 animated Transformers movie, other than the fact that Sean and John bought the movie on blu-ray a while ago and have needed a reason to watch it. Regardless, it gives us an opportunity to talk about the history of the Transformers toys and cartoon show, and how this is such a weird-but-memorable extension of those ’80s childhood mainstays. Also discussed is the eclectic assortment of semi-household names featured in the movie’s cast as well as its undeniably rockin’ soundtrack. We’ve got the touch! Continue reading

The Pick: In The Line of Fire

After a summer break from podcasting, we’re back with The Pick to talk about one of the more acclaimed movies directed by the recently departed Wolfgang Peterson, 1993’s In The Line of Fire. It’s a movie that somehow we had all not seen until now and that despite being nearly 30 years old, features a lot of characters inferring that Clint Eastwood is too old to be starring in movies. We get into plenty of Clint talk as well as how this pick reflects and plays against a lot of other movies in the actor/director’s filmography. Additionally, there’s an extended conversation about Baz Luhrmann’s delirious Elvis biopic that came out in theaters earlier this summer and is now available to stream. Continue reading

Colin’s Favorite Albums of Summer 2022

As you may or may not have noticed, it’s been a little bit since I did one of my monthly album roundups. Some of this was due to Criterion Month taking up all of my attention on this blog in late June and all of July. Also, some of it was due to the fact that after a really great first half of the year for music, there haven’t been a ton of albums I loved that came out this summer. Still, there have been a few stand-outs, while I’ve also found myself unable to resist the charms of what will almost certainly come to be regarded as The Album of the Summer.

So as Memorial Day weekend beckons its call for the end of summer, let’s take a look back at some of my favorite albums of these past few sweltering months. Continue reading

The People’s Bonus Album: Human Clay

We’re very close to finally breaching the Top 10 People’s Albums and I probably could’ve just skipped doing another bonus entry in order to keep moving forward. But, this is the most drawn-out countdown of all time, so of course I have to do another bonus entry so I can end this thing with an even 50. Also, this particular album is one that I was dreading whether I would have to eventually write about, but I’m choosing to bite the bullet and admit that me and this album have more of a history than I’d like to admit.

Album: Human Clay
Artist: Creed
Release Date: September 28, 1999
Copies Sold In The U.S.: 11.7 million

Continue reading