Shower Beer Vol LIII: Stuff We’re Watching

Hey there fellow movie and television fans. If you've ever listened to our podcast you know that the second segment of our show is called our "protein shake" where each bro discusses things that are "in our cup", or what have we watched lately. Well recently I've been watching too much shit to bring up on just the podcast, so with the help of our creative team (Nate Thurmond) we decided to blog about a few of the things we've seen recently that we wanted to discuss that we might have left out.

We're naming it after the greatest pre-gaming invention of the 21st century, the shower beer!

Here are the things I've seen lately as well as the link to their IMDB page if you want a little bit more info to see if it's something down your alley. In addition, I write Letterboxd reviews for all the movies I see without any spoilers, but I might go into a bit more detail in this blog than I do over there.

1) Double Jeopardy - (Paramount +) I was scrolling Paramount +, and when this old gem popped up as something I might be interested in revisiting I told my Roku “why yes sir it is.”. Ashley Judd in her prime in a 90’s thriller that also pairs her with Tommy Lee Jones and his deadpan humor where he literally never wants anything to do with any of the characters in the movie is a winning combination. I forgot Bruce Greenwood was in this, and he adds to everything he’s in. I still don’t think the actual plot makes much fucking sense, and the reveal is kind of laughable once we get things fully explained, but there’s a lot of fun to be had here. Also credit to Ashley Judd who does some incredible running in this movie. Tom Cruise would be proud and tip his cap were he to see it.

2) People We Meet on Vacation - (Netflix) First turd of the year, and I can’t say I was expecting too much. My wife read the book, but even she admitted like twenty minutes in that she didn’t really like it. You know if you listen to our pod that I do have a soft spot in my heart for these trashy Netflix original adaptations of books, but this one has such a grating main character that it’s difficult to get through. She is so overly quirky that when her love interest gets annoyed with her I found myself doing the Leo Dicaprio point at the screen thing from Once Upon A Time In Hollywood like “right??!”. There are a few side characters that are fun like Molly Shannon, but she has such a small role it’s not enough to save this thing.

3) Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates - (Netflix) The cast here is insane, but Efon and Kendrick seem so out of their element its wild. Devine and Plaza are able to be as absurd as they want, and it does deliver some really good laughs. Devine I think is the standout, but I’m a huge Workaholics fan so I am his target demo. Plaza does this like ghetto girl voice the whole movie and I’m not sure if it was her choice, the Directors, or the script, but it’s never explained in the movie and it’s good for a gimmick laugh or two, but after that wares thin. I do love the Hawaiian setting so that gave it about a half star bump. I need to give it a rewatch at some point because there are a few great lines in the early second act that I think have high potential to make this a sleeper comedy in terms of quotability.

4) How I Met Your Mother S2 - (Hulu) My favorite sitcom of all time, and I believe this will be my fifth full watch through. Season two is mainly focused on Marshall and Lily trying to repair their relationship, and Ted and Robin navigating the ups and downs of them wanting such different things in life, but also having an attraction to each other that is undeniable. We don’t have any of the really meaty Barney storylines yet that start to develop in later seasons so he is given the bulk of the comedic narrative and NPH as always crushes it. I still, after all these years, am mad at Lily for what she did to Marshall and how he forgave her. We know he of course really throws it in her face later on in the show though so he’s not able to claim the moral high ground. I love the finale episode of this season at the wedding with the mystery of what secret Ted and Robin have been keeping, and the final five seconds of the season are peak HIMYM.

5) The Muppet Show - (Disney +) One of my all time favorite group of characters has returned, and you need to give this a poke. I was pissed at first because I was under the impression that the Muppet Show had been given a full season order, but it’s just this special EP’ed by Seth Rogen. Sabrina Carpenter hosts, and they utilize her in some great ways, highlighted by a hilarious passive aggressive feud between her and Miss Piggy. Some nice celebrity cameos, and an absolutely fucking hilarious Bridgerton parody are the stand outs for me. If you’re a Muppet fan at all you have to give this thing a shot and I doubt you will be disappointed. I haven’t seen anything about the kind of viewership numbers this did, but I’m hoping it got enough eyeballs to get Disney to give the Muppets another shot at this.

6) From Russia With Love - (Netflix) Running through all the Bonds, and this one feels like vintage Connery and the 007 that we fell in love with. The story is really kinetic and interesting, and the people who come into the fray all have some interesting layers to them. Here we legitimately have Bond falling for a girl, but she’s also a legit 10 so it’s hard to say if he just can’t pass up how hot she is. There’s an action set piece in the last ten mins of the film that I have no idea how they even filmed it in the 1960’s it’s so damn impressive. We get another solid car chase scene just like in Dr. No, and I like how when Bond gets into a fight with the villains he doesn’t just always beat the shit out of them, he takes some punches in the back and forth. So far I’ve been loving these.

7) The Wrecking Crew - (Prime Video) I know this is the type of Amazon original that has some people rolling their eyes, but Mamoa and Bautista are so fucking watchable together, and their brother dynamic I really bought. The mystery and action have their ups and downs, but throughout it all I was locked into what was going on with the two main characters, and the one big set piece at the start of the third act is really badass. I actually feel like Mamoa and Bautista could have also been in each others roles and it would’ve worked just as well. The villain in the film is predictably cardboard, but his mansion does serve for a cool setting for the final showdown, and the cinematography in the last fight gets pretty creative. If this gets a sequel I’ll be there to watch these two dudes kick some fucking ass again.

8) Miracle: The Boys of ‘80 - (Netflix) The movie Miracle is one of, if not my favorite sports movie of all time. What makes it so incredible is the late coach Herb Brooks as portrayed by Kurt Russell. This documentary unfortunately does not have him, and thus it sucks quite a bit. It is really cool to see the players all reunited and revisiting the tournament, but at this point I’m a victim of my own interest in this story as I know all the details and there is nothing new given in the film. I wish it focused a bit more on the training camp of the team as I actually think that’s where about half the drama comes from. It does show a lot of footage from the teams run through the olympics which is awesome. There are a few characters in the group and they get pretty candid, but the movie is missing the other point of view or the counterpoint to what they offer and it really comes across as more informational and less interesting as a result.

9) Bone Lake - (Netflix) Nosferatu is probably the horniest movie I’ve ever seen, and Bone Lake is the second. The title cannot be a coincidence. The trailer for this thing felt like it was right down my alley. A trashy mystery thriller about a couple who shows up at an Air bnb only to find out it’s been double booked, and after agreeing to share it with the strangers they meet realize something might be afoot. I admit I never figure out twists before they happen, but for some reason I was able to predict this one late in the first act. It didn’t affect my enjoyment of the movie at all, and when things are finally revealed I dug the way they were presented. There are some really fun moments and the cast in this is just capable enough while still being pretty shitty that it works really well. If you have an itch that needs to be scratched with these types of movies I think this is actually towards the top of the pile as far as the fare we get these days.

10) Sidelined 2: Intercepted - (Tubi) I would not change a thing about this movie, and that doesn’t mean it’s good. It’s necessary. I saw the first one when it came out a few years ago on Tubi, and between the actually competent acting from the two leads, and James Van Der Beek (RIP) showing up I gained an appreciation for this. Here the sequel has no idea what college football is, but god damnit do they feel confident that they do. The dude who owns/runs the coffee shop is a fucking snake who looks like Benson Boone and really wishes he could sing like him. I love how the movie walks this fine line between showing authentic college freshman going to parties and having premarital sex, but never actually giving us tangible proof that any of those things are happening. I also love how the main character thinks that the best way to come back from a severe ACL sprain is to run stairs in the stadium and then be utterly shocked when he has knee inflammation. I don’t think this movie is quite self aware, which really makes it enjoyable. If we get a third one I’ll be there rooting for true love and a few more three yard out routes that this QB can lob in there and get his WR fucking killed by a safety.

-JH