All posts by Robert Yaniz Jr.

Close Watch Episode 10: ‘The Mummy’ (feat. Catherine Gonzales of Latinx Lens)

The Dark Universe might have been dead on arrival, but 1999’s The Mummy remains just as beloved as ever. More than two decades later, fans continue to revisit Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz’s sweeping adventure.

On this episode, Catherine Gonzales of Latinx Lens joins the show as we talk about the film’s influence on modern blockbusters, its iconic cast of unforgettable characters, and how well it holds up by today’s standards.

SYNOPSIS
The Mummy is a rousing, suspenseful and horrifying epic about an expedition of treasure-seeking explorers in the Sahara Desert in 1925. Stumbling upon an ancient tomb, the hunters unwittingly set loose a 3,000-year-old legacy of terror, which is embodied in the vengeful reincarnation of an Egyptian priest who had been sentenced to an eternity as one of the living dead.

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Close Watch Episode 9: ‘The Big Lebowski’ (feat. Kerri Jones)

Call him The Dude, His Dudeness, El Duder, or even El Duderino (if you’re not into the whole brevity thing). Whatever you call Jeff Bridge’s loveable hipster hero in The Big Lebowski, he’s certainly become a cinematic icon.

This episode, Kerri Jones joins the show to help us break down the ethos of The Dude, what it has to say about the culture (and counter-culture), and why so many fans seem ready and willing to convert to Dudeism.

SYNOPSIS
Jeff “The Dude” Leboswki (Jeff Bridges) is mistaken for Jeffrey Lebowski (Charles Durning), who is The Big Lebowski. In search of justice, The Dude tracks down his namesake, who offers him a job. His wife (Tara Reid) has been kidnapped, and he needs a reliable bagman. Aided and hindered by his pals Walter Sobchak (John Goodman), a Vietnam vet, and Donny (Steve Buscemi).

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Close Watch Episode 8: ‘Time Bandits’ (feat. JC from Screen Fix)

Who needs parents when there’s adventure? That seemed to be the philosophy of fantasy films in the 1980s. And as it turns out, 1981’s Time Bandits might be the granddaddy of all those fan-favorite cult classics.

JC from the Screen Fix podcast joins the show as we talk about how Time Bandits influenced fantasy-adventure films, what the movie really says about childhood versus adult, and that completely bonkers ending.

SYNOPSIS
Young history buff Kevin (Craig Warnock) can scarcely believe it when six dwarfs emerge from his closet one night. Former employees of the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson), they’ve purloined a map charting all of the holes in the fabric of time and are using it to steal treasures from different historical eras. Taking Kevin with them, they variously drop in on Napoleon (Ian Holm), Robin Hood (John Cleese) and King Agamemnon (Sean Connery) before the Supreme Being catches up with them.

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