Cinema Chop Shop

S2E14: Lin-Manuel Miranda's Lin-Manuel Miranda

It's musical theatre week at Cinema Chop Shop, as Andrew Te, Brew Boss Shawn and his wife Alley are joined by Alex Ewald of the Broadway Babies podcast to cast the hypothetical movie adaptation of a pair of Tony-winning shows. First it's Dear Evan Hansen, where a young man suffering from social anxiety fabricates a lie in the wake of a tragedy to find a way to fit in. Then it's Lin-Manuel Miranda's In The Heights, a story about the days in the life of Hispanic-American residents of New York's Washington Heights neighborhood. The gang answers trivia questions about movies turned to musicals and weigh in on the prospect of a film adaptation of one of the most succesful musicals in recent memory, Hamilton. Alex reports back from his trip to New York and we celebrate one of our greatest performers on the stage in the Honey Roast.

S2E13: I'm Stumbling Over That Word Because I Think I Made It Up

Travis, Brew Boss Shawn, Hilary and Gouge gather in the shop on 4/20 to talk about "Potsploitation" movies. First up is PCU (1994) a film that has aged poorly, but has enough potential in the premise for an interesting modern adaptation. Then we take a look at Cheech & Chong's film debut Up In Smoke (1978). Finally, we throw a little Woody on the fire for this week's Honey Roast.

S2E12: Sorry JoBeth Williams, We Didn't Recast You Today

Travis and Shawn go guest-free to talk about an uncomfortable subject that has inspired many great movies: divorce. The first film up is Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), which Travis wants to recreate with a real-life divorced celebrity couple. Then it's The First Wives Club (1996), where a trio of hilarious divorced ladies take revenge on their sleazy ex-husbands. Finally, the return of the Chop Shopper Challenge and our newest segment the Honey Roast.

S2E11: Beer Goggles

In honor of National Beer Day, Travis, Brew Boss Shawn, Joey Poole and Producer Andrew say 'bottums up' to another round of beer movies at Cinema Chop Shop.  The first film this week is Strange Brew (1983) starring Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas as Bob and Doug McKenzie.  Shawn reveals the unlikely source material for the plot of the film, and everyone agrees that Strange Brew holds up well and is worth another viewing. Then it's Broken Lizard's Beerfest (2006), where Andrew presents a bold new vision for this movie involving a director with a unique visual style. Finally, we pay tribute to Rick Moranis with our first ever Honey Roast.

S2E10 Easter Eggs Benedict Cumberbatch

Travis, the Gouge and Conan the Librarian get together in the shop for a very irreverant episode about Easter movies.  First up is Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), featuring Willem Dafoe as Jesus and David Bowie as Pontius Pilate.  Then we talk about a much lighter, but no less controversial film, Monty Python's Life of Brian (1974).  Then we've got an Easter basket full of picks from listeners and friends for the Chop Shopper Challenge.  

S2E9: Grapplebee's

Cinema Chop Shop goes inside the ring as Travis and Brew Boss Shawn are joined by a tag team of wrestling fans Lee and Tex for a look at a couple of wrestling films. First up is No Holds Barred (1989) an entertainingly bad film starring Hulk Hogan at the height of his powers. Then it's Body Slam (1987), where wrestling crosses over with rock music, a premise that lends itself to a modern reinvention. Lee and Tex bring a lot of wrestling lingo, knowledge and lore to the show this week, leading to this extra-long episode. Enjoy! 

S2E8: The St Paddy's Day Special

Not only is it St, Patrick's Day but it's Brew Boss Shawn's birthday too this week as CInema Chop Shop, as Travis and Hilary come along for an afternoon celebrating the "fillums" of Ireland. First up is High Spirits (1988) a comedy about ghosts that's not very good, but has some potential in the performances of Peter O'Toole and a young Liam Neeson. After checking in a few beers, John Wayne trades in the American west for the hills of Ireland in The Quiet Man (1952).

S2E7: Little Cinema Chop Shop of Horrors

It's Roger Corman week with Travis, Brew Boss Shawn, Hilary and Joey Poole in the brand new Cinema Chop Shop studio.  Travis and Joey talk about the long, influential career and legacy of Roger Corman before diving in to the first film The Wasp Woman (1959), a monster movie where a cosmetic executive's new secret ingredient transforms her into... a wasp woman. Then it's A Bucket of Blood (1959) a dark comedy satire of the beatnik movement.  Corman's early campy horror films have great potential to be remade into interesting and unique films