Episode 177 - THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

I wish I could tell you that The Shawshank Redemption was the greatest movie ever made, and just leave it at that. I wish I could tell you that...but podcasting is no fairy-tale world. A theatrical disappointment that found a second life on TV and home video, the film has earned its classic status with great storytelling and disarming sentimentality in depicting hope's hard-fought battle against despair.

We hope you enjoy the mononymous Barm (aka Tyler Neufeld) in his WWWW debut. We hope our love and gratitude fill this special Shanksgiving episode. We hope you have many reasons to give shanks, too. We hope.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Written and directed by Frank Darabont
Produced by Niki Marvin
Based on the novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King
Starring Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, and James Whitmore

Episode 130 - ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES

To modern eyes, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is not unlike a superhero movie. In this retelling, the titular hero resembles Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark--a rich, handsome adventurer driven to vigilantism when he experiences injustice firsthand. There's also a scene-stealing villain in Alan Rickman's delectably evil Sheriff of Nottingham, and even an eleventh-hour cameo that functions as a kind of easter egg.

Still, this Robin Hood is a very '90s affair. It's an earnest attempt to appeal to modern audiences without alienating the traditionalists, and features Kevin Costner at the peak of his laconic powers. So crank up the Bryan Adams for round three of the Robin Round Robin, as we celebrate a pioneering wealth redistributor in this special Thanksgiving episode!

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Directed by Kevin Reynolds
Produced by Pen Densham, John Watson, and Richard Barton Lewis
Written by Pen Densham and John Watson
Starring Kevin Costner, Alan Rickman, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Christian Slater, Michael Wincott, Geraldine McEwan, Nick Brimble, Mike McShane, and Sean Connery