I Have Some Notes

Originally a Patreon exclusive, we've unlocked this special Side Notes episode for all to enjoy: How to Watch Movie Good. Making I Have Some Notes over the last eight years has really pushed us to become better cinephiles and media critics. Punching up movies week after week isn't easy, particularly if we hope to create interesting pitches that meaningfully move these screenplays in a better direction. So we thought it would be good to share with you our individual journeys from average moviegoers to seasoned cinephiles. The result was a great conversation that traces our roots from working at video stores, to writing about movies, to developing a love for film theory and artistic philosophy.

As mentioned in our last episode, we intend to ride out the Hollywood strikes in solidarity with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, so we may not be punching up American superhero movies for a while. Fortunately, this presents a perfect excuse to hit the road and explore imaginative superhero movies abroad, like Shin Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider is a storied Japanese hero who is as much a cultural touchstone in Japan as Superman is in North America. The franchise spans hundreds of hours of television and a dizzying number of feature films. It is also responsible for the popularization of the "transformation" scene that became of hallmark of anime shows like Sailor Moon. We try work rework the break-neck speed of Shin Kamen Rider to something that is admittedly more accessible to us Canadians who have yet to ride with the masked grasshopper hero before. 09:00 - Plot Summary 11:08 - Film Discussion 25:04 - Punch Up 58:03 - Listener Comments

Did you miss us? Cause we definitely missed you! We're stoked to be back for another season of punching up movies, although this season will be slightly different. As you know, the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild are currently on strike due to unfair pay and poor working conditions. To show our solitary, I Have Some Notes has chosen not to promote any struck work from movie studios that are unwilling to sign a fair deal with artists. They are the lifeblood of the industry and for the countless hours of entertainment they have given us, writers and actors deserve the opportunity to earn a comfortable living. So the question is: what movies can we review? Enter The Brain That Wouldn't Die, a 1962 sci-fi/horror B-movie that just happens to be in the public domain. No fat cat executive is profiting from this one, baby! But instead of our usual punch-up routine, we decided to have some extra fun and violate our one single rule. That's right, we're doing page one rewrites! Specifically, our goa

For our season finalé, we really felt we wanted to get to the center of a science fiction film. You know, really drill down, bore out all the flaws, and mine some truly creative solutions. Additional core puns. Robin Taylor (Cinematological) joins us for the conclusion to Season 8 of I Have Some Notes aiming to rewrite 2003's THE CORE. The crew struggles a bit with this one but ultimately pitches multiple fixes including throwing an Adam-McKay-esque satirical blanket around the entire plot.  Thank you to all our listeners and Patreon supporters this season. Because of your support, the show is now completely independent and self-sustaining. This show is a blast to make, and we're so grateful to be able to keep recording into Season 9 and beyond. We'll be back in September, but if you're a Patreon supporter keep an eye out for some bonus content in July and August. Have a great summer, armchair screenwriters!

Hollywood has a long dark history of discriminating against and abusing women, an issue thoroughly analyzed by the revealing 2018 documentary THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING. When Anita recently watched this doc, it affected her so completely she was compelled to bring a panel of women together to discuss it. As such a panel is no place for three white dudes, Anita, Glenna, Danica and Erin take over the show for an insightful conversation about gender disparity in Hollywood. Take it from the man who edited it together, there are plenty of things said in this episode that are tough, but necessary to hear.

It's fair to say the consensus amongst critics is that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness needed more verses and madness, and that's a given in all of our notes. However, where MoM really struggles is in its character development, particularly of its villain. We work our way through the multiverse punching up Wanda's arc while sprinkling in some Marvel lore that could have made jumping from dimension to dimension much more fun. After you've listened to the episode come check out our Discord Server for more great movie discussion in a safe space.

Bullet Train was not well received critically. When it sits at 54% on Rotten Tomatoes you can understand why we would look at it and say "Hey, the perfect movie for our podcast." And yet, this movie is mostly rad, leaving us a bit stunned and at a loss for how to go about our usual repitching shtick. We soldier on, of course, but the rewrites are of a very minor variety. Still, it was fun to talk about a pretty good movie this time around.

When we think of director Neill Blomkamp we think of District 9 and not a lot else. While the once up-and-coming director may be short on execution, he's never short on ideas. Elysium is the kind of film tailor-made for this podcast: tons of fun, interesting ideas that don't quite come together. The result? An absolute banger of a show! As we mention in the listener comments section, Sean McKnight sent us a fully realized repitch of Elysium, you can read it here.

Barbarian is a very good movie and we talk about it. Okay, now on to the important stuff. For the last six years, I Have Some Notes has been privileged to be part of the Alberta Podcast Network, the brain-baby of founder Karen Unland. Karen's love for local art built a platform for so many of us to stand on and gave us the opportunity to fund our passion projects. Although the APN ended its operation in March, will be forever grateful to Karen as well as Fawnda Mithrush and Breanne Byrne for their tireless work promoting ours and so many other great Alberta-grown shows. We're also thankful to all our dedicated sponsors whose contributions were crucial to keeping the lights on. But as we say goodbye to the network, a new chapter begins for I Have Some Notes. Today we are excited to announce our show is now sponsored…by YOU! Yes, we have started a Patreon to keep the armchair screenwriting going for many seasons to come. So, if you are able, we humbly ask for a tiny sum of $4 per month. It would mean the world

As 90's action schlock goes, Sylvester Stallone's Judge Dredd is probably better than you remember. The money is all on the screen with great sci-fi sets and a badass animatronic robot. However, we wouldn't be reviewing it on this podcast if it were perfect. The plot is derivative, the villain is boring, and the satire the comic is known for is completely missing. Listen in as we (mostly Liam) add contemporary social commentary and introduce a new criminal element as the backbone for Dredd's wrongful conviction.

John Dies at the End is a delightfully absurd horror comedy, or at least it would be if it had been better produced. Writer and Ph.D. candidate in Media and Cultural Studies, Pete Morley, joins us to relive this beloved web serial turned cult-classic novel turned mediocre movie in a collective effort to punch it up.

Bless the entertainment conglomerate Disney for churning out mediocre movie after middling movie that will keep this podcast well-supplied into the next decade. Perhaps century. What film has Disney brought to the Gods of Rewrites as its next sacrifice? Thor: Love and Thunder. Joining us to reimagine Taika Waittit's second crack at making Marvel magic is comic expert and fellow podcaster Josh Skaar, host of Talking SMAC (Superheroes Movies Animation Comics). Together we seek to eliminate some of the cringe subplots while taking Mjonir-sized swings at a film that is more Mighty Thor than Thor.

Some movies are just made for our podcast. Don't Worry Darling is a beautiful, well-made movie that takes aim at misogyny and the patriarchy in interesting ways but juuuuuuuuust can't quite bring it home. Liam, Gregg and Scott differ on the level of mess Oliva Wilde's film is, but none can deny how engaging it was to watch. And hey, we're glad we did because it was a lot of fun to reimagine some of the twists and character arcs in a way that could've made for a stronger film.

You can have it fast, you can have it cheap, but you can't have it good. That is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in a half shell. While not necessarily a bad film, this rushed Turtles sequel was a treasure trove of missed opportunities, some of which should have been fairly obvious to the filmmakers, assuming they had the time to read the source material. Liam and Gregg take time to fix some minor issues, while Scott goes for broke with a page-one rewrite that celebrates the 90s cartoon.

It is always a bummer when a movie has a killer premise and completely whiffs. M. Night Shyamalan is back on the show for a second time and up to his usual twisty shenanigans (Shyamanigans?). This time the twist completely undermines his premise and makes us think far too much about the mechanics of his magic beach. Listen in as Liam, Scott and Gregg make one simple change to OLD that helps all the pieces fit more cohesively into place.

Happy New Year, fellow armchair screenwriters! We take a short break from rewriting mediocre movies to talk about some good ones that don't need any rewrites. Liam, Scott and Gregg discuss their top films of the year including one they all agree was a cut above them all.

It's our final movie rewrite of 2022! We hope you're all having a safe, happy holiday curled up in front of the fire listening to us deconstruct and rebuild Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho. Admittedly this one was a bit intimidating, but ultimately we landed on several solid paths to a more thematically cohesive and perhaps more contemplative film. WARNING! Last Night In Soho deals with themes of sexual violence, as does our discussion. 

Kids movies! Fun light-hearted cinema full of catchy songs that get stuck in your head when your kid plays them over and over and over and sings along with them so loudly you can't think straight and you start to think "is this what losing my mind is like?" but no you haven't lost your mind because it is in fact your soul that is sinking into the inky black abyss with each repetition of the horrid whalings of a broadway singer turned accursed voice actor whose unwanted melodic tones trespass through your ears like those worms from Wrath of KHAAAAAAAAAANN!!!! Anyway, we rewrote Frozen. Enjoy.

We've talked about mediocre X-Men films before, so for The New Mutants we decided to try something a little different. Returning guests and X-Men experts Robyn Slack (Quantuum Kickflip) and Olav Rokne (Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog) face off against seasoned movie punch-up veterans Scott C. Bourgeois and Gregg Beever in an epic movie pitch battle. Liam Creswick judges this winner-take-all I Have Some Notes slugfest. What spoils await the victor? I donno, pride or something.

While Brendan Fraser is experiencing a well-deserved renaissance, we thought it would be fun to rewind the clock to look back at his heyday in the 90s. George of the Jungle may have not been his strongest starring role, but there are many who still remember it fondly. We, of course, look back and find ways to improve Brendan's role. Cutting a couple of needless subplots and more than a few characters, we streamline George of the Jungle to include more George IN the jungle.