Rage Whale · Movie Podcast: Interviews, Reviews and Recommendations

Round-Up: Entertainment News, Reviews & Recommendations

·35 min·2 clips

"Wake Up Dead Man" is called boring, pointless, and too late to create real murder-mystery tension.

1. Rage Whale opens a January 1, 2026 entertainment roundup that centers on films, trailers, and recent cinema visits. 2. The hosts are the main voices, with Drew joining the regular Rage Whale setup and Peter named as the New Jersey American correspondent on the prior week's episode. 3. The episode's main question is which 2025 and early-2026 releases are worth seeing, and whether big franchise films, new trailers, and re-releases still work in cinemas. 4. The first major topic is "Avatar: Fire and Ash," which one host calls controversial before saying he went in blind and still followed the characters. 5. He argues that "Way of Water" and "Fire and Ash" are "one film split in two," comparing them to "Kill Bill part two," a Twix, and "Casino Royale" with "Quantum of Solace." 6. The discussion of Avatar also covers IMAX 3D, "laser" presentation, and James Cameron's insistence on specific cinema settings before playback. 7. The hosts say the film's scale, battle sequences, and sound made it feel immersive, with one describing the experience as being "in the room" during the action. 8. They then move into a wider defense of franchises, saying audiences rarely complain about repeated structures in "Star Wars," "Terminator," "Harry Potter," and "Voldemort" stories. 9. The Avatar discussion expands into ecology, with references to humans destroying the planet, grief, nature as healing, and the use of a "little tentacle ponytail" to tap into roots. 10. They also mention the whale sequences, the harpooned creature, and the water-vibration scene as examples of the film's brutality and sensory impact. 11. One memorable claim is that James Cameron would rather make a character-driven film than a "bang bang film," and that emotion matters more than just explosions. 12. The hosts cite "Terminator 2" and "Aliens" as examples of Cameron adding emotional arcs, including the T-800's protection of the boy and Ripley's mother-daughter bond with Newt. 13. The conversation then turns to a Spielberg trailer called "Disclosure Day," which they place in the tradition of "War of the Worlds," "Close Encounters," "Minority Report," and "Independence Day." 14. They name Josh O'Connor and Emily Blunt and suggest the trailer hints at aliens, government interference, and someone having their voice taken away. 15. The hosts describe that trailer as politically charged, linking it to the question of what people are allowed to say in the current world. 16. Another major segment is "Wake Up Dead Man," where one host says Daniel Craig feels more pantomime-like across the series and that Benoit Blanc arrives too late. 17. They criticize the film's large cast, mentioning Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Jeremy Renner, Mila Kunis, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Daryl McCormack, Kaylee Spenny, Thomas Hayden Church, and Geoffrey Wright. 18. The episode's tone shifts between playful banter, detailed film criticism, and enthusiastic technical talk about IMAX, 3D, puppets, and theatrical re-releases. 19. Listeners who like movie debate, franchise comparisons, and current cinema releases will get the most out of it. 20. Listeners who want tight editing or no spoiler-adjacent film talk may skip it.

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