Movies For Life

A PERFECT WORLD

Things don't always go as planned, so we ended up discussing just one movie this week--Clint Eastwood's unsung 1993 masterpiece A Perfect World. We discuss the moving story as well as the incredible cast led by Kevin Costner, Laura Dern, and Clint Eastwood. We also discuss how much we love Bradley Whitford but hate the character he plays in this movie. So hop in your time machine, grab your Casper the Friendly Ghost costume, and get chased by an Airstream. It's sure to be a great time. Is that a threat? No, that's a fact.

Follow the hosts and the podcast on Twitter:

Movies For Life podcast: @MovieLifePod

Brian Keiper: @BrianDKeiper

Michele Eggen: @micheleneggen

Films About Filmmaking #4: MUTE WITNESS and LIVING IN OBLIVION

It's another episode on our favorite topic on Movies For Life - more Films About Filmmaking! This week we have two absolute gems to talk about, possibly deeper cuts, that are totally worth giving a look if you haven't seen them! First up from Michele is the surprisingly funny and twisty thriller whose plot centers around the making of a slasher film - we're talking MUTE WITNESS from 1995! Then, also from 1995, we dive into the hilarious yet poignant LIVING IN OBLIVION! This is a much more laid-back, fun chat than most of our episodes, so sit with us and we hope you have as great a time listening as we did recording!

Note: THELMA & LOUISE is teased at the end as being a movie coming up on the next episode. Unfortunately that didn't work out so we will only be talking about A PERFECT WORLD for that show.

Follow the hosts and show on Twitter:

Movies For Life podcast: @MovieLifePod

Brian Keiper: @BrianDKeiper

Michele Eggen: @micheleneggen

Summer Vacation Movies: INDIAN SUMMER and DON’T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER’S DEAD

Summer is almost over so we are bidding farewell to the season on Movies for Life with a couple of summer vacation movies! First we're heading back to camp with Brian's pick of INDIAN SUMMER from 1993. With all the warmth of nostalgia, and the trials of growing up and moving on, this is a true feel-good movie with a stellar cast (including an hilarious performance from Sam Raimi!). Then it's time for Michele's pick of DON'T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER'S DEAD from 1991! Hear why this irreverent comedy starring Christina Applegate actually has some pretty important messages and lessons to impart - while still being a super fun time all the way through!

Follow the hosts and podcast on Twitter:

Movies For Life podcast: @MovieLifePod

Brian Keiper: @BrianDKeiper

Michele Eggen: @micheleneggen

Forever Favorites #4 Part 2: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

In Part 2 of our fourth Forever Favorites episode, we discuss Wes Craven's masterpiece of reality-bending horror A Nightmare on Elm Street. So much has been said about this movie, but we honestly think we've taken a different approach than most. We discuss the text exchange that broke Michele's brain and made her see the movie in a brand new way, why Nancy Thompson is one of the truly great final girls, and how Craven may have had much more up his sleeve than many give him credit for. So, come with us down the rabbit hole for a mind-bending journey of our dreams. Are you ready for Freddy?

Forever Favorites #4 Part 1: CAPE FEAR

(CW/TW for discussion of rape and sexual assault)

It's time for another round of Forever Favorites on Movies for Life! And because we talked about each movie for longer than we anticipated, we are splitting this up into two episodes - so look for the episode on Brian's Forever Favorite, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, next week! But first up for this episode is Michele's FF, 1962's CAPE FEAR, directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck. This was a difficult movie to talk about at times and things get heavy in terms of Michele's personal connections to the film, but it was an important discussion to have. Find out why Mitchum's Max Cady is the scariest movie villain ever to her and why this movie might actually be the most terrifying one we've covered thus far. As always, thank you all for listening!

Follow the hosts and show on Twitter:

Movies For Life podcast: @MovieLifePod

Brian Keiper: @BrianDKeiper

Michele Eggen: @micheleneggen

Michele‘s Major Movies: NIGHTCRAWLER and BROADCAST NEWS

It's Michele's turn to talk about movies related to her college major this week on Movies for Life! Michele majored in Communications with concentrations in print journalism and digital filmmaking, so we're talking about two very different movies (yet not different in their central themes) all about the world of television news. First is Brian's pick of NIGHTCRAWLER from 2014, featuring an astounding performance from Jake Gyllenhaal! Then it's Michele's turn with the James L. Brooks comedy-drama modern classic BROADCAST NEWS from 1987!

Folllow the hosts and podcast on Twitter:

Movies for Life podcast: @MovieLifePod

Brian Keiper: @BrianDKeiper

Michele Eggen: @micheleneggen

GOODFELLAS

As far back as we can remember, we've always wanted to talk about GOODFELLAS. So join us as we take a look at this gangster all-timer in what we hope is a discussion different from what you've heard before. Does the film really glorify the lifestyle and the violence? Or is there more going on in Martin Scorsese's masterpiece? We discuss our past experiences with the film as well as the fact that we see it differently now than we ever have before. Also, we are premiering our brand new opening theme music by Jerry Smith! So buckle up, watch for helicopters, and make sure that body is secure in the trunk. 

Follow the hosts and show on Twitter:

Movies For Life podcast: @MovieLifePod

Brian Keiper: @BrianDKeiper

Michele Eggen: @micheleneggen

Brian‘s Major Movies: MUSIC OF THE HEART and SCHOOL OF ROCK

This week on Movies for Life, we're STICKING IT TO THE MAN! Our topic is about our Major Movies - or movies related to each of our college majors - and we're starting with Brian! Brian majored in Music Education and is a music teacher, so the choices for this episode are the movies that best represent what he does. We start with Brian's pick of the first (but certainly not the last) Wes Craven movie covered on the podcast, MUSIC OF THE HEART from 1999! Then we talk about the absolutely delightful, joy bomb of a movie that is Richard Linklater's SCHOOL OF ROCK from 2003!

Follow the hosts and podcast on Twitter:

Movies for Life: @MovieLifePod

Brian Keiper: @BrianDKeiper

Michele Eggen: @micheleneggen

Films About Filmmaking #3: TARGETS and MATINEE

Movies For Life is back with more of our favorite Films About Filmmaking! In this third installment of our recurring series, we look at two movies about just watching movies. Michele's pick is first up this week and it is Peter Bogdanovich's directorial debut, TARGETS from 1968, starring Boris Karloff (and Bogdanovich himself!). It's a brilliant but heavy movie, and we have lots to talk about with it! Then the conversation gets much lighter as we dive into Brian's pick - Joe Dante's love letter to movies and going to the movies, 1993's MATINEE! Listen as we wax poetic about how awesome John Goodman is, and give our own interesting theater-going experience stories! We love these movies and we hope you love the episode!

Follow Movies For Life and its hosts on Twitter here:

Movies For Life podcast: @MovieLifePod

Brian Keiper: @BrianDKeiper

Michele Eggen: @micheleneggen  

Forever Favorites #3: ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST and MAGNOLIA

We've arrived at our third Forever Favorites episode and there are a few surprises. First up, the complex commentary on mental healthcare that is Milos Forman's ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEXT (1975). Michele and Brian struggle through some feelings about the film and Michele comes to a surprising conclusion about it. Then it may be a film that deals a lot with regret, but we have no regrets revisiting Paul Thomas Anderson's MAGNOLIA (1999). It's an epic episode that gets a bit personal along the way.

Follow the hosts and the show on Twitter:

Movies For Life Podcast: @MovieLifePod

Brian Keiper: @BrianDKeiper

Michele Eggen: @micheleneggen