Aussie and the Scotsman talk movies

This week we review the 1982 American action film Rambo directed by Ted Kotcheff and co-written by and starring Sylvester Stallone as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo.

It co-stars Richard Crenna as Rambo's mentor Sam Trautman and Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Will Teasle.

Rambo is a troubled and misunderstood Vietnam veteran who must rely on his combat and survival skills when a series of brutal events results in him having to survive a massive manhunt by police and government troops near the small town of Hope, Washington.

It is the first installment in the Rambo franchise and the excitement this week is palpable.

You either love it or hate it and we both love it. The Scotsman starts to delve too deep into the nuances of the story before the Aussie reminds him "it's just Rambo mate - don't do that".

And he is quite right.

Enjoy this movie for what it is.

The Aussie was playing the Rambo music score on the way to the studio and he is ramped up, pumped up and ready to "kick arse". He runs this show like clockwork delving into the minutia.

He is so excited, see if you can count how many times he says Rocky instead of Rambo. Although In fairness Sly has made this week very difficult for podcasters......Rocky, Rambo, Rob and Rohan....the big 4! 

If you are our age you are going to love this podcast and reminiscing about all things Rambo!

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This week we discuss the 2005 American biographical sports drama film Coach Carter starring Samuel L Jackson and Channing Tatum (in his film debut).

This is a 98.5% accurate representation of basketball coach Ken Carter who made deadlines in 1999 for suspending his undefeated high school basketball team due to poor academic results.

This is not a predictable film - it's a great story and all the better because it's true.

A feel-good, important movie. Definitely worth a watch.

The Scotsman is not into his sports movies, particularly American sports movies - he says it every time.

This week is different, this is more than a sports movie, this is a story about believing in yourself and wanting more for others.

It is about being a teacher. About standing up for what is right and what is wrong. Wanting the best for your students in defiance of the community and others that should know better.

You don't have to watch before you listen but we do tell you exactly what happens.

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This week we review the 2000 American biographical legal drama film Erin Brockovich directed by Steven Soderbergh.

The film is a dramatisation of the true story of Erin Brockovich, portrayed by Julia Roberts, who initiated a legal case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company over its culpability for the Hinkley groundwater contamination incident. 

We are honoured to have in the studio with us today our very own Erin Brockovich - our close friend Emma who picked this movie to review with us.

The Scotsman gets himself into hot water now and again with comments like "Erin reminds me of you" and "have you ever used your femininity to get what you want?"

The Aussie has a dig at our guest too. But not to worry Emma has the boys under control. She is more than a match for us and welcome any time.

Smart, tough and determined both Emma and Erin teach the Aussie and the Scotsman a thing or two about life.

We discuss Erin's character and how she changes over the course of the movie.

We discuss the relationship between her boss Ed and Erin - it becomes "a relationship of mutual respect" says Emma.

A true story - and Julia Roberts is well deserving of her oscar win.

Let us know what you think.

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This week we discuss the 1995 epic historical movie Braveheart directed by Mel Gibson.

It stars Mel Gibson as William Wallace with a great supporting cast.

As you can imagine the Scotsman is in his element. He is fired up. Riffing monologues. Telling stories about Glasgow and how he ended up in Australia.

There's goosebumps and tingles galore as the boys (well the Scotsman) abuses the English and shouts "Freeeeeedoooooom" as often as he can. 

He tells us about the famous Battle of Bannockburn when the Scots beat the English decisively which resulted in Scottish independence.......come on Scotland!!!!!!

The Aussie gets philosophical early on and asks which is worse .....losing your life or losing your freedom and he tells us, in his opinion, what really makes a good leader.

We ask what makes an epic movie and which epic movie is better.....Gladiator or Braveheart?

Does the Scotsman's accent gets stronger in this podcast, we think so.

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This week we discuss the 2013 biographical drama film 12 Years a Slave directed by Steve McQueen and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giammatti, Lupita Nyongó and many others.

With 9 Oscar nominations this is a must watch true story.

An incredibly important story about inhumanity, injustice, survival, hope and the human spirit.

No stories. We get straight into this one. Tingles all around.

The Aussie had not seen this one.....and the boys are in strong agreement. This has had a deep emotional impact on them both.

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This week we are reviewing the 2014 epic science fiction drama film Interstellar directed and written by Christopher Nolan.

It stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon, and Michael Caine.

Set in a dystopian future where Earth is suffering from catastrophic blight and famine, the film follows a group of astronauts who travel through a wormhole near Saturn in search of a new home for humankind.

Straight off the bat - the Scotsman tells the Aussie he is full of shit.

Fairly interesting questions posed by both men in this one - the Scotsman tries to explain the ending for our friend Thali.

The Aussie doesn't believe in black holes or time dilation or relativity or any hocussy pocussy science fiction stuff. He thinks Christopher Nolan just makes things up.

The Scotsman is outraged and it gets personal.

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This week we discuss the 1978 American epic war drama film The Deer Hunter directed by Michael Cimino.

Nominated for 9 awards and winner of 5 - best picture, best director, best sound, best film editing and best supporting actor for Walken. This is a must see for all movie aficionados. 

This movie is about a trio of Slavic-American steelworkers whose lives are upended after fighting in the Vietnam War.

The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and John Savage, with John Cazale (in his final role). Meryl Streep and George Dzundza star in supporting roles.

The first half of the story takes place in a working-class town in Pittsburgh, and the second half in Vietnam.

This is a powerful film. A film that will remain with you for a long time.

The intensity of the acting draws you into the pyschological trauma these men suffer.

In the words of the Aussie; "it's an after not a during".

Persevere through the first hour and you will be rewarded in the second.

The russian roulette scenes are some of the most famous in movie history.

The ending is 'divisive' and the boys do not agree on the meaning but they try and articulate it.

This is not a film for the light hearted - and you don't have to watch this movie to listen. 

It is one of the best movies of its generation.

If you have seen this tell us what you think in the comments below.

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This week we review the 2022 American psychological drama film The Whale directed by Darren Aronofsky.

The film stars (Oscar winner) Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, (Oscar nominated) Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, and Samantha Morton.

The plot follows a reclusive, morbidly obese English teacher who tries to restore his relationship with his teenage daughter, whom he had abandoned eight years earlier.

Although not a mainstream film, regardless of the Oscar win by Brendan Fraser and the nomination for Hong Chau, this is a polarising film.

We discuss obesity and why some people allow themselves to get this way. We get serious about wokeness and we give some fairly strong opinions on what we think is acceptable and what is not.

Quite a heavy podcast this one - and we try not to pull any punches.

You don't have to watch this movie - although we do spoil it - but it stands on its own and maybe you will want to watch after and form your own view. 

The Scotsman gets pretty pissed off with the Aussie hallway through this podcast for saying the same thing over and over again. This gets heated......tell us what you think.

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This week we have one of our specials "the best sequels of all time".

Now there are lots of great movies that have sequels - but are the sequels better than the original?

That is the question we question on a few of our choices.

There are sequels on superheroes, Lethal Weapon, 48 hours, Mission Impossible, Austin Powers, Terminator, Indiana Jones, Rocky, Rambo, Airplane, Batman, Predator and many more. We give some notable mentions and tell you our favourite.

What would your number 1 sequel be?  And have we missed any? Let us know in the comments. 

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This week we review the 1985 American science fiction film Back to the Future directed by Robert Zemeckis.

Set in 1985, it follows Marty McFly (Michael J Fox), a teenager accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean built by his eccentric scientist friend Emmett "Doc" Brown (Christopher Lloyd), where he inadvertently prevents his future parents from falling in love – threatening his own existence – and is forced to reconcile them and somehow get back to the future.

This is a great family film. We can't believe it is nearly 40 years old.....are we really that old!

The Scotsman gets upset when the Aussie jumps around the timeline of the movie rather than discussing it in order -which quite frankly in a time travel movie - is ok.

The Scotsman needs to chill but he is over-excited again about this movie. Who doesn't love Michael J Fox in the 80's, 90's 2000's, 2010's and 2020's. What a film - what a start - it is hard to fault and the amount of money Michael J Fox has earned for Parkinsons Research is phenomenal - we discuss in the trivia.

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This week we discuss the 1996 British American fantasy action adventure film Highlander  starring Christopher Lambert, Clancy Brown and one of the Scotsman's favourites , Sean Connery.

The film chronicles the climax of an age-old war between immortal warriors, depicted through interwoven past and present-day storylines.

It is the first film in the Highlander franchise. And if you haven't seen it....don't bother.

This short podcast is definitely worth a listen because the Scotsman shows off his Sean Connery impersonations and talks some Scottish trivia.

The Scotsman suggests that Christopher Lambert could be the worst actor ever or maybe on a par with The Rock???

And is 'Shakiko' " the Scotsman's new favourite word.....we think so. He tries to fit it in in a few podcasts.

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This week we are reviewing the 1986 American coming-of-age drama film Stand by Me directed by Rob Reiner.

Based on Stephen King's 1982 novella The Body, the film is set in Oregon, in 1959, and stars Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell (in his film debut), as four boys who go on a hike to find the dead body of a missing boy.

This is a special podcast - we have a guest reviewer. Doctor Andrew.

This is one of the Doc's favourite movies of all time.

The Scotsman is up against it here - he didn't like this film and he makes that very clear. He had not seen it before. And watching through 50 year old eyes he was bored senseless.

Not the best way to welcome our first guest - but the Scotsman doesn't care - he fires off a number of shots. 

It's the Aussie, the Scot and the very articulate Doc in this nostalgic look back at a fan favourite. 

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This week we are reviewing the 1986 American war film Platoon written and directed by Oliver Stone.

Nominated for 8 Oscars and with 4 wins this is one of the most realistic war movies on film.

Based on Stone's experiences from the war, follows a new US Army volunteer (Sheen) serving in Vietnam while his Platoon Sergeant and his Squad Leader (Berenger and Dafoe) argue over the morality in the platoon and of the war itself.

The Scotsman is a little under the weather this week  - self inflicted it seems!  And while the Aussie had not seen this one - nor is it his cup of tea - he seems to have a lot to say.

This is all about human nature - right and wrong - questions about the morality of war come up and we get a little serious for a while. 

Let us know what you think of the movie, we really enjoyed discussing this one.

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This week we have another special with the Aussie, the Scot and the Doc.

Doctor Andrew brought in a surprise quiz for us to play.

"Battle of the Baddies "

We start with Andrew's top 16 baddies and then we play them off against each other, we vote who we think is the scariest - until - as they say in Highlander "there can be only 1"

The Aussie is a bit quiet as he doesn't know a lot of the characters nor has he seen the movies. To make it worse add he finds out That Darth Vadar is not real!

Let us know who would be your worst 'baddie' of all time? Jack Torrence, The Joker, Jaws, Darth Vadar or someone we have missed?

With thanks to Doc Andrew for bringing this in. 

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This week we are reviewing the 1990 American romantic comedy film Pretty Woman directed by Garry Marshall.

The film's story centers on Hollywood escort Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) and wealthy businessman Edward Lewis (Richard Gere).

Vivian is hired to be Edward's escort for several business and social functions, and their relationship develops during her week-long stay with him.

If you haven't worked it out yet this is one of the Aussie's favourite movies. He loves his romantic movies and love stories.

The Scotsman - well considering The Deer Hunter, Platoon and Goodfellas feature in his top 10 favourite movies of all time - you can get a sense of how this podcast is going to go down.

The Aussie is under the microscope here. The Scotsman drills him with questions  - and it gets very personal.

Would the Pretty Woman relationship have worked long term? Or was it all just about the sex.....we discuss that a lot more.

Opposites attract - and that's how we got started. Enjoy!

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This week we review the 1994 American independant crime film Pulp Fiction written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.

It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence in Los Angeles, California.

The film stars John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames, and Uma Thurman.

The title refers to the pulp magazines and hardboiled crime novels popular during the mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence and punchy dialogue.

We are so excited about this one - particularly the Scotsman who wants to review every scene.

"Arguable one of the best cinematic pieces of all time" he says

Keep the kids away as there's a fair bit of swearing and the Aussie has a field day with his lines.

"Say what again!" 

It doesn't matter if you have or have not seen it - when you watch again you will be as engaged as you were the first time.

Enjoy muthu....fu$%rs!!

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This is the first  - and the best - in the series of The Karate Kid movies - the original 1984 movie directed by John Avilsden (the oscar winning director of Rocky).

It stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, and William Zabka.

The Karate Kid follows the story of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), an Italian-American teenager from New Jersey who moves with his widowed mother to Los Angeles.

LaRusso is taught karate by a handyman and war veteran Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) to help LaRusso defend himself and compete in a karate tournament against his bullies.

If you are a Gen-X'r there's a high chance you will have seen it.

If you are a millienial you may have seen the sequels on Netflix - Cobra Kai - or the remake with Jackie Chan, either way, you don't need to watch this one to listen - it's a nostalgic look back at an 80's classic.

We review the original and discuss all the sequels.

Tune in for some fun.........we absolutely fan boy over this one.

"Mercy is for the weak........ fiiinniiiiisssshhhhh hiiiiimmmmm!!!!".

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This week we discuss the 1995 crime thriller film The Usual Suspects directed by Bryan Singer.

The plot follows the interrogation of Roger "Verbal" Kint (played by Kevin Spacey), a small-time con man, who is one of only two survivors of a massacre. Through flashback and narration, Spacey tells an interrogator a convoluted story of events including that of a mysterious crime lord—known as Keyser Söze.

MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT - Please watch this movie if you have not seen it. While it can be a little slow at times it is 100% worth watching before you listen.

It is so good that it took the Aussie 20mins to work out after the movie ended what had actually happened.

The Aussie tells us an amazing story how a very close relative read the draft script of The Usual Suspects and lived next door to the writer and director.

The Scotsman brings the caliber of the show down with a flatulence story that has to be heard to be believed.

And it gets a bit spicy later in the podcast when the Scotsman puts out a nation wide call for a 3rd co-host!!

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This week we are reviewing the 2024 American superhero comedy film Deadpool & Wolverine directed by Shawn Mendes.

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman respectively star as Wade Wilson / Deadpool and Logan / Wolverine, alongside a cavalcade of star cameos.

In the film, Deadpool learns that the Time Variance Authority is set to destroy his universe and partners with a reluctant Wolverine from another universe to stop them.

The plot is paper thin but we are not watching for the plot. We are watching for the Reynolds/Jackman combo. 

Their chemistry is off the charts, the in-jokes hilarious and the 4th wall conversations have just the right amount of charm. 

This is not our usual kind of film - the Scotsman refers back to their business contract clause which states "we should only be reviewing old classic, nostalgic movies" - not current superhero movies. As you can see he loses that battle.

We argue over Hugh Jackman (55) and ex-wife Deborah Furness (68) age  for some reason and we discuss the gibes the various characters have at their respective studios.

Despite hamming it up in the socials these two have been friends for years. This is the best superhero movie since End Game.

Definitely worth watching at the movies before you listen - if you don't want us to spoil it for you.

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Today we are reviewing what we think are the best Australian movies of all time.

And there loads to choose from. What a great selection of Australian movies there are. 

We rattle through a lot of films before discussing our top 10.

Will we agree or disagree on our number 1?

Do you have a favourite? Could it be Baz Luhrman's big budget Australia with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman or a a lesser well know cult classic like Bad Boy Bubba?

Let us know what your favourite Australian movie is in the comments section.

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