I Have Some Notes

Boy, does it feel good to be watching mediocre movies again! The summer was filled with mythic epics and elevated horror, but that's over now and it's time to fix some super hero slop.

Kara Zor-el gets done dirty again by Hollywood, this time whiffing in real obvious ways that could have easily been avoided. It's the second time we've opened a season with a Supergirl movie, and we wish desperately for this character to one day get an adaptation that fans and little girls can be inspired by.

In the meantime we take a crack at making better use of each main character, giving them opportunities to work off one another in interesting and thematically relevant ways.

It's good to be back. Enjoy season 12, armchair screenwriters!

Season 11 comes to an end with Disclosure Day! That's right, we paid our money, ate our butter dusted popcorn and watched a brand new movie for you. Was it good? Kind of! And that is just the kind of movie that is perfect for the show.

Liam, Scott and Gregg have a lively discussion about what worked and what didn't in Spielberg's latest alien romp and how we could fix the missing connections between key characters.

Thanks again for being with us for another year of I Have Some Notes. We remain humbled to have such smart, passionate listeners who keep us coming back season after season. See you next in September for Season 12!

Kumite! Kumite! Kumite! David Rae of Quantum Kickflip returns to the show to Dux it out with Bloodsport. Together we cast aside an unnecessary military subplot and while making the Tanaka family ties to the fighting tournament much more explicit.

Oh, and we also unpack the many lies of Frank Dux!

Thanks for listening, and make sure to check out Season 4 of QK over at quantumkickflip.com!

Quantum Kickflip's Robyn Slack returns to take a pass at another lukewarm script: The Simpsons Movie. The cast was sharply divided on whether Homer's first ride on the big screen had any comedic worth, but we did agree the plot needed a lot of work.

Many set pieces hit the cutting room floor including the Simpson family's trip to Alaska. We'd pitched ways to get the town of Springfield more involved, and brought back a familiar rake-smashed face as the central villain.

You can catch Liam and Robyn starring in season four of Quantum Kickflip on June 3rd, so fired up your podcast app and subscribe today!

Okay, The World Is Not Enough is uneven. And yes, it's bland. And sure, the cold open is 10 minutes too long and ends with a hot air balloon ride. But, hey, Shirley Manson sings the Bond theme, and that kicks ass.

This Brosnan blockbuster had a great many things go wrong with it, so we couldn't just gently stir in some plot beats. No, the whole thing needed to be shaken. I promise the episode is better than these puns!

Video game adaptations have always been dodgy, but I dare say Resident Evil (2002) is among the dodgiest. Vacant of gory R-rated fun and unoccupied by characters of the slimmest depth, the only true resident seems to be an obnoxious soundtrack. 

In other words, this movie is speaking our language. We completely overhaul the film's opening to both drive the mystery and bring the motivations of the main characters into view. There's much back and forth whether to keep the amnesia plot, or dump it entirely. And we had a METRIC TON of insightful listener comments.

This episode is a bit of a unicorn in and of itself, as we struggle to come to a consensus on a cohesive new pitch for Death of a Unicorn. Plenty of interesting ideas get debated, however, as we attempt to add more bite to the satire, as well as the featured creatures.

Let us know who's pitch you liked the most and why it was Gregg's.

A little bonus/gap filler episode for you this week in the form of movie/TV recommendations. We may or may not have recorded this some time ago, back when Fallout's second season had just dropped. Still, there are some gems in here that can help bust the endless Netflix scrolling cycle. 

See you in two weeks for a full episode!

Jack Quaid may not feel pain in Novocaine, but we did. You'd think after nearly ten years of consuming the most mediocre films Hollywood can disk we'd be somewhat numb by now, but no.

Though, truth be told, Novocaine is a pretty fun high-concept action thriller. You've got a charming young actor and a premise that invites all kind of bloody mayhem. But, as always, we find a way to Monday Morning Screenwriter this into something that will rock the senses.

Having been burned back in the 90s with one of the most infamously bad movie adaptations in history, Nintendo clearly had a one word mandate for The Super Mario Bros. Movie: safe. Make every safe decision you can, don't do anything interesting or take any kind of risk that could reflect poorly on the brand.

And hey, it worked. Super Mario Bros. made all the money and kids loved it. But, what if the Nintendo made SOME choices, and took SOME risks? How much better a showing could this have been for the little Italian plumber?

Josh Skaar of the Talking SMAC podcast joins us once again to find out! Together we work out a stronger arc for Luigi and a really fun and organic way for the Princess to be in another castle. Let'sa go!