The Weekly Movie Throwdown

This week's episode features a throwdown between two con-job comedies. 1988's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels takes on Heartbreakers from 2001. It's men versus women in these two stories of swindling and romance, with big-time stars like Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Sigourney Weaver, and Jennifer Love Hewitt at the center. Which one is the better swindler comedy? Tune in to find out which film takes home the crown.Show notes and moreWatch on YouTubeCheck out Steven's writing at Film Obsessive.

This week on the show, it's a throwdown between two Diablo Cody-penned screenplays. 2009's Jennifer's Body, directed by Karyn Kusama, goes up against Zelda Williams's Lisa Frankenstein from 2024. Both have that signature Cody banter, but each one is very much a product of its time. In which film does it work better? Tune in to find out.Buy Jennifer's Body on Blu-ray here.Buy Lisa Frankenstein on 4K here.

This week on the podcast, friend of the show, Andy Remondino, joins us for another spooky season episode. It's a throwdown between two 1987 vampire films, as Joel Schumacher's The Lost Boys goes up against Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark. Two similar stories told in very different ways. Which one does it better? Tune in to find out!Follow Andy RemondinoInstagram: @andyremondinoLetterboxd: andyremo

This week on the podcast, we kick off Spooky Season with a throwdown between two very similar horror films.David Robert Mitchell's It Follows (2014) tells the story of a young woman tormented by a supernatural entity that trails her wherever she goes. 2022's Smile, directed by Parker Finn, follows a similar premise, but with a bigger, slicker studio feel.Both films are a lot of fun, but which one will be our champ?? Tune in to find out!

This week on the show, we look at two films from eighties icon Michael J. Fox. Beyond Back to the Future, he had a big-screen career for over a decade. Our throwdown is between two of the more prominent features of that time: 1987's The Secret of My Success and 1993's For Love or Money. Each features Fox as a comedic lead, but in the six years between releases, a lot changed in America: the excessive '80s were left behind, a democratic president moved into the White House, and America went to war with Iraq. All of this led to a big change in American cinema in the '90s. Despite the same actor with the same charming persona at the center, these are two very different films. Tune in to hear us break it all down, and decide which MJF vehicle is better.

This week it's an original vs. remake throwdown on the show. Directed by J. Lee Thompson, 1962's Cape Fear stars Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck and tells the tale of a newly released criminal with a vendetta. Its counterpart, the 1991 version directed by Martin Scorsese, stars Robert De Niro and Nick Nolte, and puts an interesting twist on the story. Each is a product of its time, which makes them a lot of fun to compare.

This week, the show gets back to basics with some early '90s action. In a throwdown between Die Hard-on-a-boat films as 1992's Under Siege takes on 2026's Mutiny. It's Seagal vs Statham in this battle for the ages that you won't want to miss.

This week's episode is a throwdown between two retellings of Jane Austen's classic novel, Emma. Amy Heckerling's Clueless from 1995 sets the story in the present day, while Emma., Autumn De Wilde's 2020 adaptation stays true to the original. Which one does it better? Tune in to find out our verdict.