Shower Beer Vol XXXIII: 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) Jingle All The Way - (Disney +) A once a year Christmas watch for me. The late Phil Hartman is an absolute scene stealer, and I somehow wedge into a conversation once a month his classic line from this, "I've been following a family of deer down by Lake Minnetonka. When Christmas is over I'll take him down there and set him free. Nature's kind she'll take him in like he's one of her own." As the years go by I find myself liking Sinbad less and less in this, but the kinetic pace of the movie, and the campy elements work so well. It's a film that couldn't be made now just because you'd go online and purchase a Turbo Man off of temu in five seconds and there would be no plot, so I'm glad it can remind us of a simpler time.

2) Jingle Bell Run - (Digital rental) This movie had no business being as fun as it was. I have to say with a Hallmark Christms movie you go in expecting a level of melodrama and over the top acting, and when you see competent writing and very capable actors who are believable it does take you aback. That's what happened here. Ashley Williams is incredibly watchable, and I can honestly say that the plot here is pretty unique, and incorporates Christmas, romance, and likeable characters very well. The movie doesn't end up as predictable as you might think, and this is one that I might have to throw into my every other year Christmas watch rotation. I know that sounds crazy, but give it a poke I think you'll be very pleasantlly surprised.

3) The Floor S2 - (Hulu) Rob Lowe returns to the game show that makes us all feel like geniuses. I have to say after two seasons of sample size now, the actually game element of the show is really fucking stupid in that it's really just identifying pictures. The concept of the actual floor, and the strategy around that is what I really enjoy. This season a cool wrinkle was added in a "time boost" that players can get if they win three consecutive duels which adds to their time giving them a pretty solid advantage in one match when they choose to use it. If they can find a way to innovate the actual duels, or maybe make smaller versions of the floor, but have them be topic specific like a sports version of the game, but with 30 players instead of 100 that could be a good way to keep it interesting. I'll definitely watch season 3, but this isn't a show I'd hardcore recommend to people.

4) Here - (Digital rental) One of my favorite trailers of the year, and reuniting the team from Forrest Gump seems like a movie I needed to give a shot to. I'd heard horrible things in reviews, and the conceit of the whole film taking place in one location with a fixed camera was something I thought could go horribly wrong, but that I respected in terms of the creativity. The movie actually worked for me better than what I've been hearing from others, but I cannot deny that it's not very well performed and some of the time jumping makes it difficult to really invest in the characters. Paul Bettany gives maybe a career worst performance, but the third act sticks the landing for me and my wife was bawling at the parts of the film that Zemeckis was trying to get us connected to. I think it's worth watching if you're a fan of Hanks, and at the very least it's a unique way of telling a story.

5) Kill - (Digital rental) A total adrenaline rush of a movie. Basically a bunch of people fucking destroying each other inside a passenger train with a ton of gore and some creative ways to kill each other. The character stuff you can take or leave, although the villain dynamic actually works pretty well. I love a good over the top villain, and you definitely get that here. I would suggest you play action movie bingo to this if you think you can handle it. The close quarters of the fighting does restrict the set pieces at times, but it's shot really well and that feeling of claustrophobia mixed with how visceral all the attacks are is a great combination. The main protagonist looks exactly like a guy from How I Met Your Father which had me cracking up half the time as he was slicing people in half.

6) A Simple Plan - (Pluto TV) Sam Raimi directed, and starring Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton, sign me up! What we end up getting is an over acted, and somehow just not very interesting movie that has nobody who is interesting at all. All the ancillary characters suck, and the crescendo of the film really fizzles out with a whimper. I do like the setting and was getting some Fargo vibes in the second act, but the vibe of the film isn't enough to sustain my attention for the runtime. The character of Lou is so fucking annoying, and not in the intentional way he's supposed to be. We end up with a lot of character actors who god bless them are asked to take on a much bigger load than they really should be. Picture an NBA team where your role players are taking 15 shots a game because you don't have the scoring you need from your star players. Also I don't know what Billy Bob Thornton was going for with his character, but it felt like a really bad version of a one man show that someone would do for their semester end monologue at NYU or something.

7) I Used to Be Funny - (Netflix) I'm an idiot because I was not prepared for how heavy this movie was and thought it would focus more on an up and coming stand up comic in Toronto dealing with the struggles of that career. Rachell Sennott is really good in this, and I've only seen her in Bodies Bodies Bodies where she plays a total airhead so her character was really interesting to see her inhabit. The stand up in this movie is actually pretty hilarious, but it's not really done to add levity as much as it is to show how the characters in the film use it as a coping mechanism for the trauma they've experienced. Once again we have a film that uses the flash back narrative format (which I'm fine with putting a moratorium on for 2025) and here it works with mixed results. Half the time I have to ask my wife "Is this in the present or past?" which again maybe I'm just a dumbass, but it gets really difficult to keep up as the film utilizes it a lot. You will probably need a pallet cleanser after this, but I do think it's worth giving it a shot.

8) Sidelined: The QB and Me - (Tubi) See what I started off my Jingle Bell Run review saying, in that this movie had no fucking right to be as fun to watch as it was. I saw a Tubi original...I saw James Vanderbeek... I said once you've made the sale quit selling. First off, this thing looks really good. In the way that Shudder originals often have some incredible cinematography, this was incredibly well put together and there are some dance set pieces that are edited like Michael Bay or Justin Lin were there cutting it together. Have to tip my cap as well to our two leads. While I don't know if Noah Beck has leading man chops, he grows on you throughout the film and even though his character is written in a way that makes it tough to take him seriously, there is one big monologue that he holds his own with and it really makes or breaks the film. Now with a movie like this there is a certain ceiling it inherently has that it can't outperform, but I enjoyed this and feel like Tubi has gained my respect.

9) Goodrich - (Digital rental) I've been looking forward to this since I first saw the trailer, and it's finally out on digital VOD. If you were like me and questioning if Keaton still has his fastball, this will put those doubts to rest. Holy shit does the third act really drive home the emotional beats of the film. Mila Kunis isn't in the movie enough for the first two thirds, but her character is used very prudently and she has really good chemistry with Keaton. I think the subject matter of this really hit me too as I'm about to be a first time parent in a few months and it really focuses on being there for your kids and how important it is to be present. The character of Goodrich is impossible not to root for, and Keaton embodies the guy who just wants to do the right thing, even though he might not know what that is really well. Highly recommend this one.

10) The Brak Show S1 - (Max) A staple of my early teens, The Brak Show is one of the dumbest things ever created, but it cracks my shit up. I'll admit not every episode I can defend, but the ones that work really do. My wife can't sit through more than thirty seconds of this, and I know when to pick my battles so I don't really defend it. Highlights from a very short season one include Brak misplacing his neighbor Mr. Thundercleese's goldfish, and Zorak fucking with Brak by taking his stuffed hippo. Brak's Dad is so utterly insane that when he's the focal point of an episode it's basically must watch. His staring contest performance in the season finale is an all time sports moment of the 21st century. Also Brak's singing throughout the season, but especially in the episode Psychoklahoma is worthy of a Tony award.

-JH