125 - Jumanji: The Next Level

This week’s Off the Shelf episode covers one of the most significant movies to come out in 2019 that stars both Jack Black and Dwayne Johnson, AND is still in theaters. OK, the truth is we failed to publish it last month and would have felt bad if we never published it at all, so here you go.

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124 - Top 10 Movies of 2019

Everyone else is doing it so we figured we might as well do it too. Here are our Top 10 movies of 2019! CJ and Jordan each made their own lists, and boy does it show -- especially at the end. Yes, that's us bating you to listen to the whole thing.

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122 - Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

This week marks the end of a saga that began more than 40 years ago, and influenced not only countless other movies, but also the very fabric of culture itself. The Rise of Skywalker turned out to be nearly as divisive as The Last Jedi, but for nearly opposite reasons. We need to talk about it.

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121 - Star Wars: The Last Jedi

We’ve been talking about doing an episode on The Last Jedi pretty much since we started this podcast. So now, after 18 months of hype, it’s finally here. And by “it,” we mostly mean a whole lot of Jordan mounting an impassioned defense of the movie against its many haters. Meanwhile, CJ continues to be strongly OK with the entire Star Wars franchise.

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119 - Ford v Ferrari

Ford v Ferrari is a movie that looks and feels like it was build by Ford in 1967. Is it the most thematically significant or narratively satisfying movie you’ll see this year? No. But it sure is a good time!

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118 - Top 5 Underrated Movies of 2019

Every week, we bring you a deep dive into the biggest box office winners. But are they also the best films every weekend? Don't answer that. It's rhetorical. For our Off the Shelf episode this week, we wanted to share some of our favorites of 2019 that didn't win any weekends.

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117 - Knives Out

While there’s a special pleasure in being surprised by how good a movie is, having our high expectations met is such a relief. Especially after a string of disappointments a in recent months. Thank you, Rian Johnson, for bringing it. As always.

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116 - Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting came out in 1997, but it's still one of the most quoted movies ever. It was also the suggestion of CJ's dad, who joins us for this Thanksgiving-spirited episode. Come geek out with us about Matt Damon and impossibly good writing.

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115 - Frozen 2

Frozen II marks the next installment in a commandingly successful franchise, but it deserves a fair and balanced review, independent of that blinding context. Listen, it's really hard to write a description for an episode about this kind of movie. You try.

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113 - Charlie's Angels (2019)

By now it is clear that Charlie's Angels did NOT win the weekend. Why? Well, we have some ideas. Also, we found ourselves deep in the rabbit hole of why so many movies are just plain OK these days, and some of crucial differences between mediocrity and greatness in storytelling.

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112 - Frozen Re-release

Another historic moment for Nerd Critic -- a re-release! Don’t worry, there’s plenty of spankin’ new content in here, too, but we wanted to revisit our old conversation to help ourselves (and you, dear listener) prepare for Disney’s next billion dollar princess powerhouse.

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111 - Doctor Sleep

Once again, CJ and Jordan come to blows. But this time, we had a guest to feel embarrassed in front of. Sides were taken. Feelings were hurt. In spite of it all, Doctor Sleep was a fascinating study, and it was hard to stop talking when we ran out of time.

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110 - Mad Max: Fury Road

If you've spent any time in the last four years NOT being impressed by Mad Max: Fury Road, then SHAME ON YOU. But don't worry, we'll help you get right again. Join us as we nerd out about what is probably the best action movie of the decade.

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109 - Terminator Dark Fate

Terminator: Dark Fate may not have been relevant enough to dominate the box office this year (witness Jordan's sadface), but it certainly inspires a range of fascinating topics for discussion. Join us as we run straight into the warm embrace of living tissue over metal endoskeleton, which turns out to be a not-bad metaphor for this movie.

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106 - The Terminator Franchise

Have you ever wanted to completely understand all the Terminator movies? Have you ever wondered how many there even are, and whether there might be a TV show, too? Probably not, but we'll answer all those questions anyway! Consider this episode your complete guide to this famous and troubled franchise. We promise to prepare you to have the best experience possible at the upcoming Terminator: Dark Fate.

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